Wag the Dog

Summary

“We’re not gonna have a war. We’re going to have the appearance of a war.”

Political satire is one of the hardest genres to pull off effectively. In order to be effective, you need to be just as clever and funny as you are worldly and grounded. The greatest political satire of all time is widely considered to be Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. That film took a premise from a book called Red Alert, which was essentially about the threat of nuclear annihilation and how people in power would deal with that greatest of threats. The book was stone cold serious and was actually made into another well received film called Fail Safe, which treats that premise with solemn respect. Kubrick on the other hand managed to make the end of the world seem hilarious. That film is essentially the golden standard on which political satires have been weighed against since.

1997’s Wag the Dog is considered to be one of the better political satires. Loosely based on a novel by Larry Beinhart named American Hero, the script was written by Hilary Henkin and playwright and filmmaker David Mamet was commissioned to improve upon their work. The resulting film was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $64 million worldwide and earning nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Barry Levinson, the film is an enjoyable dark comedy about media manipulation in the new age of politics and war. The film became even more popular when a scandal involving Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky occurred in the months directly after the picture was released. Warner Archive has recently given Wag the Dog a Blu-ray release sourced from a new 4K transfer. I enjoyed revisiting the film the other night for the first time in years.

Master of spin Conrad “Connie” Brean (Robert De Niro) is summoned by the President’s staff led by Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) to help deal with a crisis. The President has been accused of sexual misconduct in the White House with a teenage girl. There are only twelve days until the election, and this scandal could easily derail the President’s entire campaign. Briefed on the situation, Connie immediately goes to work. His first thoughts call for the President’s press team to deny the existence of a B-3 Bomber and to refuse to comment on a situation in Albania – all of which they leaked ahead of time. The goal will be to fake a conflict with Albania until the election has finished. Conrad flies with Winifred to visit Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman.) Stanley is both extremely successful but he is also resentful of the lack of recognition he has received over the years from the Academy. Conrad shows Stanley the amount of power he could wield over the news cycle over the next eleven days, and Stanley can not resist the challenge. In order to convince the public that there is a war, Stanley will need the help of writer Fad King (Denis Leary,) songwriter Johnny Dean (Willie Nelson,) and writer Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin.) To produce a war, they will need a good song and also a hero that everyone can root for (Woody Harrelson.) 

Wag the Dog has essentially stood the test of time. The screenplay by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin still works because the ideas that the film explores about spin and media manipulation; the ways in which our perceived reality is determined by the way reality is presented to us; are all still extremely relevant today. In the film, there is an extended sequence in which an actress played by Kirsten Dunst runs away from a blue screen, carrying a large bag of Tostitos while film cameras roll. She looks silly. Afterwards, a bridge, sirens, a burning building, and a kitten are digitally added into the footage. It is a very funny scene in the film, but it is amazing to think that right now this type of editing could be done with artificial intelligence in less than ten minutes and would be more convincing than anything that could’ve been done with the super computers of the Nineties. Media manipulation in many ways has actually become easier, because the financial barrier for entry is minimal. 

The cynicism that the baby boomer generation felt after Watergate and the Kennedy assassination was well founded. With a twenty four hour news cycle, mistakes are bound to be made, and made often. Once those things are out on the Internet, that “truth” is hard to pull back in. Wag The Dog finds our country just before it would be rocked by the events of September 11, and an even darker cynicism would occur. The age of talking heads featured in this film – from talkshow hosts to live news reporters – has morphed to a point where people openly admit that they largely rely on social media for the news that they receive these days. It is funny to watch Wag the Dog and see the media manipulation that seemed so dark and sinister pales in comparison to the barrage of falsity we are seeing today. Unbelievably, those were simpler times! We could not have guessed that back then. The screenplay itself is of high quality with memorable characters and great dialogue – especially anything said by Robert DeNiro’s character throughout the film. There are plenty of laughs and the film reaches a natural conclusion which makes sense. That said – I have always felt that the picture could have punched even harder than it does. It could have been even more acidic. It is a bit too respectful for the audience and probably could have taken a couple more risks, but maybe it would not have been such a widely enjoyed film if it had done so. I also would say that the film is clever and funny, but it is rarely laugh out loud funny. I thought Mamet’s State and Main was a very funny picture, and in comparison this picture is slightly less funny. That said, I have always enjoyed the picture for what it accomplishes overall. The concept and its execution are both strong.

Dustin Hoffman received an Oscar nomination for best actor for his performance in the film. He is perfectly cast and it is fun to see him unshackled and allowed to ham it up. Robert DeNiro is great in the picture. He has good comedic timing and the right amount of gravitas for the role. Excellent casting on those two top roles. The surrounding cast is filled with enjoyable supporting actors such as Denis Leary, Anne Heche, Willie Nelson, and William H. Macy.

Barry Levinson has no difficulty giving the film a light touch given the cynical and paranoid ideas it explores. The cinematography by the great Robert Richardson gets the job done, but it is more restrained than many of Richardson’s best works (I should go on record here saying that he is one of my favorite cinematographers of the last fifty years.) The music by Mark Knopfler is classy and relies largely on his signature guitar playing style. Everything in the picture comes together well. 

Overall – Wag the Dog is an enjoyable comedy about media manipulation and politics. The film holds up well and is one that is well worth revisiting every so often. Check it out!

Video

Wag the Dog is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode from a brand new 4K scan of the original negative. Warner has been knocking these new presentations out of the park recently, and it is safe to sat that this film has never looked better. That said, Wag the Dog finds cinematographer Robert Richardson and director Barry Levinson working in a fairly restrained manner. The film almost seems to try its best to avoid being showy, and while it works for the material, it does not make the film a front runner to receive full 4K UHD treatment. This video presentation is going to be more than satisfactory for me as a definitive presentation, and I can;t imagine double dipping if a 4K UHD is ever released for the reasons I listed above. Fans of the film will certainly be pleased.

Audio

I was pleasantly surprised by the the lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. The film is surprisingly immersive at times – such as the scene where they film on set. Speakers are steadily engaged. Clarity is excellent and dialogue is clear. The music by Mark Knopfler is enjoyable and fits the strange energy of the picture. I noticed in one scene that some bass notes really come into the sound field in a surprising way that almost distracted me for a moment, which I thought was an interesting choice.

Supplements:

From Washington to Hollywood – this archival featurette has interviews with Barry Levinson, Jane Rosenthal, Tom Brokaw, John Frankenheimer, Dee Dee Meyers, Budd Schulberg, Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker and others discussing the media and culture of 1997. The correlation to the Clinton controversy in the months after the film’s release is lightly touched upon. This is an enjoyable piece largely for those of us who grew up in this era.

Archival Audio Commentary by Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman 

Original Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video: 4.5/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Supplements: 3.75/5

Overall: 4.25/5

Wag the Dog boasts a great concept with an excellent cast and a talented director. The script is witty and has some excellent moments that satirize the world of media manipulation by pushing it to a logical extreme. By imagining if the media could be manipulated into reporting on a war which simply does not exist, the picture speaks to the ways in which we should all be wary of what we see. This film was released four years before the events on 9/11 made our country far more cynical, and it is interesting how much more easily false news can be propagated today. The only downfall of the script for me is that the screenwriters did not push the envelope even more with the fantastic concept they had drawn up. Regardless, there is plenty to enjoy about David Mamet and Hilary Menkin’s writing. The film features great performances by Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman with a strong supporting cast. Wag the Dog has strong replayability and holds up well nearly thirty years after its release. Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release comes from a solid 4K scan and features some fun archival featurettes.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.